Officials Considering Cycle Track for Woodmont Avenue

Move would take away some parking spots on Woodmont

The parking lane on the right in this picture of Woodmont Avenue could be removed to make way for a cycle track.

Andrew Metcalf

Montgomery County transportation engineers are examining a way to install a cycle track on Woodmont Avenue.

Emil Wolanin, the transportation department’s traffic engineering chief, said during a County Council committee meeting Thursday that engineers are looking at taking away a parking lane on the road between Old Georgetown Road and Edgemoor Lane to install a cycle track, which would be a two-way buffered track running on Woodmont between the intersection of Old Georgetown Road and Bethesda Avenue.

Wolanin said the parking lane there is “not highly utilized.” He said the department is conducting a traffic analysis but that engineers don’t think there will be a problem.

The road currently has a bike lane that extends from the intersection of Edgemoor Lane to Bethesda Avenue. Wolanin said the cycle track could be implemented in 2015.

He added that planners are evaluating turning the one-way part of Woodmont Avenue between Old Georgetown and Hampden Lane into a two-street.

“The business community has been advocating highly for turning one-lane roadways into two-way streets,” Wolanin said.

He also mentioned that engineers examined putting bike lanes on Arlington Road, but determined it wouldn’t be feasible due to the traffic on that road.

Councilmembers Nancy Floreen and Hans Riemer both expressed concern that bike and pedestrian infrastructure improvements aren’t being made due to possible traffic problems.

“We need to go back to letting these urban areas be urban… and force the cars to wait,” Floreen said.

Riemer said, “You have to have people conform to necessary infrastructure… because we’ll have backups doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be done.”

An example of a buffered two-way cycle track in Montreal. Credit: Payton Chung on Flickr